Beauty
by Spiffsta
Summary: Enter. I know you want to. Don't deny it. Yeah I see you debating. It isn't a crappy story. How can you tell? Good question. You'll have to read it.
1. Prissy Pansy

Lily Evans peered reluctantly in the mirror. Slowly she fingered her brush, glaring all the while at her reflection. What was beauty anyways?

_It's just some commercial expectation set by society to look a certain way!_ She thought angrily._ Isn't there beauty on the inside? What does that look like? Are people really so consumed with the outer layer that the sustenance beneath is deemed pointless?_

She sighed and pushed her thick, heavy glasses back on her face. She fingered her bushel of flaming hair that refused to be tamed. Lily struggled to run her fingers through her tangled fro of accursed knotty strands. Other girls made it look so easy. Their silky rivulets of spun gold would part smooth as chiffon.

Lily fingered her wand lazily. Perhaps she could find a spell…

"Bi-pity bop-ity boo!!" Lily laughed as she tapped her head jokingly with her wand, in reality half-hoping a wave of sparks would engulf her body and transform her from Cinderella to magical princess.

Her wand coughed out little more than dust as a single blood red rose materialized on her desk. Lily laughed at the pathetic display and then sighed, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..." she pricked her finger on a thorn and cursed, "Oh wonderful…" the pinpoint of blood swelled to a droplet, "a rose by any other name would deceive with beauty and strike with thorn!"

Lily put the rose in a vase before heading to bed. Tomorrow she would be off to Hogwarts away from her muggle life. Away from her accursed sister and her perfectly charming blond looks that seethed of arrogance. Away from people who could never know her real self. Lily was tired of it all. And tomorrow all her worries would be magicked away. Literally.

Lily slipped off her fuzzy slippers, flung off her glasses, and hopped on her creaky old bed. Though her bed was ancient, Lily felt quite comfortable snuggled under her large puffy blankets. She thought of Hogwarts until a familiar face wandered across her mind's eye; it was her best friend Christina Arietta-- nicknamed Cherry. Lily could easily imagine her friend's light bouncy brown curls occasionally playing across her "cherry" cheeks. Lily grinned, thinking of Cherry's rivalry with another Gryffindor. She didn't know him personally- never wanted to in fact. He sounded like a pig from what Cherry told her.

They were both campaigning this year for Team Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The Headmaster had a whimsical notion to practice some democratic election like in the United States. Lily rolled her eyes at the thought of Americans. She did like their accents however.

Refocusing her attention back to the election, Lily schemed up campaign ideas against the other candidate. He was probably some jock that looked fabulous and couldn't count to three in Dutch. Lily fumed at even thinking of someone like him. She hoped to Merlin that Cherry would get team captain and not this prissy showoff named Pot-head or something.

Lily burrowed her way deeper under the covers. The nights were just starting to get cold. From the frosty window, the only thing remotely visible was a wavering streetlight in the cold dark night. Lily drifted slowly off to sleep dreaming. She dreamt of a blurry form- a guy- a reoccurring motif in her dreams. The only thing she could ever make out were his eyes, golden chocolate orbs that spoke more than any words could say. Lily sighed and gazed into his endless sea of color and emotion.

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"Lily, get up you lazy brute!" a shrill agitated voice called from the door banging noisily on the wooden panel.

"Go away Pansy," muttered Lily.

"It's _Petunia,_" shrieked the irritated teen.

"We're all flowers, who cares?" Lily replied in a yawn. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to cast away her sleepiness.

"Lily…" came the warning trill. "You're going to make me late. I'm meeting my strong handsome Vernon at the mall."

Lily laughed, "Yes your beefy Vernon who cares more about tools than you!"

"At least I _have_ a boyfriend, Lily," she replied smugly, "I'm not the one who's going to die _alone._"

That stung. Lily grabbed her glasses and flung open her door in rage only to find it empty. A tinkling little laugh drifted down the hallway. "She's up mother!"

Infuriated, Lily quickly changed into an outfit, not even bothering to glance into the wretched mirror. As she finished pulling on her knee high socks, she smoothed her gray skirt and stood up firmly in her platform shoes. She felt taller than usual and gained confidence from that. She grabbed a brush and hoped to high Heavens that her hair would be tame today. As she absentmindedly brushed her long tangly locks, she listened to the morning wizard radio station. She started humming to a ghastly song of ghouls and poltergeist, and finally threw her brush in her suitcase.

Then, something about the brush caught her eye. There was a certain unusual thing about it that Lily just couldn't place. It looked just as it did yesterday; a worn and old wood handle with a few broken plastic combs, but different. It was subtly dissimilar. Finally, it dawned on her that there were no hairs of hers stuck in the brush even though she had worked through her many knots and tangles.

"Weird," she muttered.

"Lily! Are you really up?!" her mother called lovingly, "I've got breakfast waiting! I've got pancakes!"

Lily threw her brush in her trunk, locked it, and rushed downstairs. She could already smell the warm homemade whiff of hot pancakes and syrup. She zoomed to the kitchen, leaving her trunk by the front door.

"Ahh mum! I _love_ your cooking!" Lily said, already biting into the warm tasty treat. Syrup glided off the fork and drizzled onto the plate.

"Always the best for my little flower….s" she added as Petunia came into the kitchen.

"Mum, the kitchen is a mess! Look at all that dirt on the floor," she shrieked pointing at a brilliant white floor. "Someone could die if mold starts growing!"

Lily snorted in her orange juice and broke out into fits off laughter. Her face turned bright red and matched her fiery locks.

"What? What's so funny?" Petunia asked, tautly primping her lovely flaxen voluminous hair while pursing her lips in confusion.

Lily fought down her laughter, "Who'd've thought a flower was afraid of dirt?"

Her mom failed at trying to suppress her laughter and giggled as Petunia glared daggers at them both.

"Well, Lily, I know you certainly aren't," looking down at her with a covetous yet mocking glint in her eye. Lily was taken aback. She knew her sister's looks like the back of her hand. Was her sister actually jealous of her? Of what? Intelligence? No, not Petunia. All she really cared about was looks and attention.

"Oh yes, I'm acquainted with dirt," Lily said lightly, getting back to the conversation, "I often roll around on it laughing at you!"

Petunia's lips crushed together, a look of determination in her eyes, "So you admit that you roll around in dirt, like a filthy animal- like a dirty pig!"

"If I'm not mistaken, pigs are naturally dirty. I naturally roll on the ground with laughter at your pathetic comebacks… so yes! I admit it!"

"Oho! That's rich! Rich as the dirt you roll in."

"Well we get food from that _dirt_ so I'd imagine it would be rich!"

"Oh yes! All hail Lily, Queen of the Mud!! She's the richest of us all-- in pounds of animal dung!"

"Pounds of animal dung--Oh I thought Vernon was _your_ boyfriend!" Lily remarked coolly as Petunia shook with anger.

"Girls! Break it up!" their mother yelled. "This is the last meal we have with Lily until Christmas! Let's make it a nice one!"

The pancakes were cold. Lily blamed the prissy pansy.

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	2. Oops

"Lily! Is that you?" Cherry yelled from a compartment window as the blast from the train drowned out her voice. Lily tried to get on the train through the masses of students to answer, but the kids were packed tight. Lily wove between a talkative pair of Hufflepuffs and stumbled clumsily past a cowering group of blurry first years.

"I trip over them EVERY year!" Lily muttered agitatedly. She finally hopped on the train, only to be greeted with swarms of conversing students. Frustrated, Lily swerved and ducked around students, waving politely to the ones she knew as she went along. Suddenly, as Lily passed one of the compartments, a spell full on blasted her clear against the wall. Her red hair broke free from the band, her glasses shattered into pieces and Lily lay crippled, out cold on the floor.

"Oh crap," a low silky voice cursed quickly. A tall, tan, and muscular James Potter rushed over to the fallen body. He scooped her up and brought her quickly into the compartment gently; muttering how much trouble they'd undoubtedly be in if a prefect saw them. She stirred remotely.

He sat down tenderly with her in his arms on the compartment bench. "Wow," he said as he looked down at the girl's face.

He ran his hands suavely through his own disheveled, dark, chocolate locks "Nice going Sirius!" James said just above a whisper with a cross between sarcasm and true admiration in his voice. He leaned over her body; "She's out cold!"

"Sirius, most girls are head over heels for you already! You didn't have to help this poor girl off her feet like that," smiled Remus Lupin, slightly reprehensive. His pensive eyes betrayed his worry for the girl, however.

"Hey- it's not my fault! I thought I saw that slimy Slytherin, Snape!" snarled the teen, his steel silver eyes glinting with hatred. He swept his midnight bangs to the side of his bronzed skin. He glanced gorgeously at the girl. "Remus, you know I don't go for redheads. Too emotional… She's cute though." He said, attempting to lighten the mood.

Lily blurred into the light. She could hear voices but couldn't stop her swimming head. She thought some people were talking about a cute girl. One was talking about the girl's lustrous long curly hair. She was apparently very pretty.

Lily could care less. She had a serious migraine and the only relief she had came from the comfortable, warm support beneath her. Without opening her eyes, Lily snuggled deeper, groaning in pain. Slowly her head stopped circling and her eyes flickered open with retracting and immediate pain.

"Where am I?" she asked. An attractive face gazed down at his shoulder. His golden eyes looked familiar and soft but she couldn't put a name to that lovely face.

"Well lucky miss, you are the coveted lap of Mister James Potter- star Quidditch Seeker and soon to be leader of the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team," Sirius Black bragged fancily.

That woke her up. The Pot-head guy! It was James Potter: the enemy of her best friend. Her eyes went wide as she realized she was leaning on the warm comfortable shoulder of James Potter the vile contender for Gryffindor Quidditch team leader. She tried to get up but her head started swimming.

"Aaaggh!" Lily whimpered in pain, grasping her temples. "Get a physician!"

Lily clutched her head in agony only to hear the blaring answer, "We can't; none are on the train. It's best if you just stayed where you are. You don't mind, do you?

"You've got the most comfortable seat in the house," James smiled mischievously. Lily recoiled. He was the enemy!!

"Which one of you imbeciles cursed me?" Lily gasped out between throbbing stabs of her head ache.

"Guilty," one of the blurs said. He came into and out of focus sporadically.

Lily grasped on to consciousness, "What curse?"

"Doesn't matter…it got a little out of hand- that's all… I didn't see you and it was meant for someone else," the unfocusing and refocusing blur explained. Its voice came slowly and distortedly.

"Doesn't stop the pain," Lily gritted her teeth struggling to get up.

"You don't look so great," a small fuzzy figure exclaimed worriedly. She wobbled up and a clear picture of the compartment came at last. James was at the door. Lily wondered how he had gotten there so fast.

"Keen observation" she muttered. "Move," she ordered, pain crinkling her brow.

"No, you need to sleep. Stop moving around so much! You are just going to hurt yourself."

She pulled out her wand, "Don't make me---" but before she could finish, her vision blurred and she fell forward into the arms of the despicable loathsome handsome James Potter once again.

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	3. Smack down

_Welcome all who continue reading my story! First off, I would like to thank you for spending your time reading these lovely chapters. Secondly, I wish to know what you all are wondering when you read this- do you connect with any of the characters or situations? Do you have any theories pertaining to what will happen in the story? Are you belligerent because you believe I am wasting your time? In any case, I value your opinion and thus, I'd be ever so delighted if you would review for me. Cheers!_

_Spiffsta_

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"So who do you think she is?" Black asked James conversationally across her motionless body.

"I don't know… I remember only a couple of red heads but they had the orangey frizz ball look going on," James laughed.

"Maybe it's Lily Evans? You know- that girl who hangs out with that girl who's going against you this year for team captain….Cherry! That's her name!" offered Peter.

"Ha Evans! What a laugh. Last year, she practically had a red fro of fuzz. And did you see those bug eyes of hers? Talk about your four eyes!" Black scoffed at Ms. Evan's glasses. "And besides, this girl threatened us just fine without glasses and her hair clearly isn't fro material. It's pure gloss! As I said, this girl is _cute_."

"Sirius, I thought you weren't into red heads?" Remus chuckled.

"I said they were too emotional: not off limits." He grinned roguishly. "But I might grace this girl with my charm. Make up for this unfortunate incident… with a romantic date."

"You're not off to a great start there Sirius. She called you an imbecile and she was only half-conscious!" James joked.

Before Sirius could reply, the apartment flew open. A tall snooty looking Ravenclaw had his face buried in a clipboard as he strolled in. Head boy. James scooped Lily into his arms before the kid could look up. She groaned slightly.

His sharp eyes went straight to James. "What's going on here?"

"Err, she fell asleep in my arms," James blushed. "You know how girls are."

He coughed and averted his eyes. "Yes well we are looking for Lily Evans. She was to instruct the new prefects on their duties. However, we can't find her."

"What's she look like?" asked Peter.

"Reddish hair, glasses, always a book at hand. Imagine her in Gryffindor- quite a shock. I would have placed her as Ravenclaw."

The boys exchanged looks. Could it just be a coincidence? "Perhaps she missed the train…" offered Black.

"She doesn't seem to be that kind of person," he grunted. "I see she's waking up. Maybe the girl has seen her?"

"Err, I doubt it very much sir," James spoke quickly. "She and I have been very _preoccupied_." He blushed again. He felt her move a bit more. He hugged her tighter to prevent her movement.

The guy sighed red in the face and turned on his heel in a huff mumbling under his breath. James relaxed as he left the compartment.

"Good one James!" James' lips curled at the corners good-naturedly.

"Cheers—" He didn't even see it coming. SMACK. Lily slapped James as hard as she could. The sound echoed in the confined space.

"Jerk!!" she yelled. Her eyes were wild with fury ablaze in a sea of green.

James cringed, holding his hand to his cheek. "What was that for?!" he demanded defensively trying to hold back the stinging tears.

"You implied I was here of my own free will doing things I'd... _never_ do!" Lily roared. Her hair lifted with her surging fury.

"Never say never!" Sirius whispered to Remus. He got piercing daggers from her.

"What was I supposed to do? Say _Oh yeah, we accidentally knocked her out?_" he shouted back.

"You told Robert you hadn't seen me- you LIED!" She countered ferociously.

"Is that his name?" mused Sirius lightly, acting as if the whole thing were some big spectacle.

"_You_ are Lily Evans?" James asked surprised.

"It's not as if I've changed in the past three months!" she said flippantly.

"Uh… right. So where are your glasses?" James raised his eyebrow.

Lily paused, "On my fac---" she stopped as she noticed she could see! She didn't have her glasses on but she could see!

Lily patted her eyes but they weren't there. "How is that possible?"

"Don't forget her hair," squeaked Pettigrew.

"Yeah you've become pretty cute Evans," Black commented lightly.

Her rage faltered to indignant embarrassment. "I don't need _your _compliments or whatever you and your friends are trying to pull. It's cruel. True beauty comes from within. Just because you think I'm ugly on the outside, you don't have to rub it in my face!"

Sirius looked to his friends to make sure he was hearing the same thing as the rest of them. Yep. She was insane. "I don't think you understand. We aren't joking… Perhaps you've hit your head too hard."

Confusion swept across her face. "And who's fault would that be?" she retaliated.

"Snape's," a dark look consumed Sirius's face momentarily.

Lily puffed, angered, "If I'm not mistaken, this Snape fellow isn't the one who blasted me into a wall!"

This feud had to stop before it started. "Lily, all of us apologize from the very bottom of our hearts. We truly meant you no harm," James said without a trace of sarcasm or cheek at all.

"Fair enough, I accept," Lily conceded grudgingly after a few moments. "And thank you for not leaving me in the hall on the floor even though you all were the ones who put me there."

James didn't know whether to laugh or not. Was she joking?

"Always here to help a damsel in distress," Black cut in.

"I am no damsel in some fairy tale and you are not my knight in shining armor!"

"Yeah and why's that?" Sirius asked.

Lily replied immediately with a straight face, "You don't have the right eyes."

He looked shocked for a moment. That wasn't the answer he expected. Then he burst out laughing. When his laughter finally died, only her shadow remained sauntering through the compartment door.

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	4. Who is that?

_Cheers for all of your reviews! I can see you fingers practically itching to write me another one. Don't let them down_

_Spiffsta_

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Lily roamed through the train in search of the prefect's compartment. When she found it, she nearly walked right into Robert. He looked down surprised.

"Who are you?" he asked. Lily raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"It's me. Lily," she said. He stared. "Lily Evans…"

"Lily?" his shocked voice echoed. "Well you've err changed over the summer... in more ways than one."

Now Lily was mad. Why did people keep saying that?! "I'm the same as always!"

He gave her a stern look. "Not from what I've seen. And I didn't think you were into the _mischievous_ type."

Lily crunched her brow once again in confusion. And then, "Oh that wasn't what it seemed. I'm not really dating Ja--"

"You know those boys only go for your looks. I'm sure you know how stunning you've become but it doesn't mean you should base your relationships on looks alone."

_Stunning??! _Evans was vexed. Everyone was on DRUGS! Couldn't anyone tell she was the same old Lily?

"You all are insane!" she said frustrated, and with that she stormed off.

"Lily, the prefects!" he shouted after her. Her conscience stopped her. She slowly turned and forced her legs to backtrack to the compartment. There was a group of students looking thoroughly bored.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she plastered on a fake smile. That caught their attention. The guys sat up straighter and the girls seemed surprised. Lily ignored it and started talking- all business.

Lily explained the duties prefects were assigned to as well as the privileges involved with the title. In her element, Lily relaxed a bit. She had a never-ending wealth of knowledge, just waiting to express itself. "Any questions? No? Well that's it then! I hope you enjoy the experience!" she beamed and strolled out.

As she walked, her smile dropped completely and her eyes roamed the train for Cherry. Finally, she caught a glimpse of a brown curly haired girl chatting animatedly in a booth. Lily entered.

"Cherry! We need to talk!" Cherry turned happily at Lily's voice but when she saw Lily, she just stared at her like Lily was a bug from outer space.

"It's true!" she said mortified.

"What's true?" Lily asked impatiently.

"You traitor!" Cherry accused. At Lily's blank look she pressed on, "You are the red head seen in the arms of James Potter!!"

"Yes but-" Lily started. She could hardly believe gossip traveled so quickly!

"No buts Lily! This is important! I can't believe you would betray me for him! I thought real friends would stick together!" her eyes shimmered.

"Oh God," Lily sighed exasperated, "not you too! You want to know what I did to James Potter?"

"You did something _to him?_" shrieked Cherry incredulously, her mind in the gutter.

"Yes I SLAPPED him," she said finally getting Cherry to listen to her. "Ok it started when I got knocked out from a stray spell. I was unconscious and James didn't know who I was so he brought me in his compartment until I regained consciousness. I woke up and tried to go but I unfortunately fainted into James' arms." She shuddered for effect here to show her loyalty. "Then when I woke up, I heard James tell Robert—Head boy Robert—that I had fallen asleep on him and that we had been very preoccupied beforehand. So when Robert left, I slapped him."

Lily didn't blink once. She held her breath hoping Cherry would take the story she had given as true. Cherry laughed. She bubbled out with laughter. It grew to a roar. Lily chuckled, not sure why her friend was laughing so.

"You did it right Lily! I shouldn't have doubted you. Ahhhhh," she wiped off her tears from the sides of her eyes. "It's just when I saw you--"

"What do you mean?! You saw me before I got on the train!" Lily exclaimed annoyed for the umpteenth time that day.

"Yes, I saw you from afar. And, well you've changed Lily! Last time I saw you, you had frizzy curls and round thick glasses. Here, come with me," she said, seeing the look on Lily's face.

They waded through the crowd that had gathered until they found the lavatory. "Look," Cherry said. Lily rolled her eyes and looked in the mirror. That's when it hit her. She looked nothing like her old self! Lily leaned in, "No way!"

Her glasses were gone of course and yet she could still see. She examined her bouncy large polished red curls. Only this morning she could have sworn they were gnomish knots. However she never did look at her mirror. And her brush had been freakishly clean. Her eyes actually fit her face; they weren't bugged out, magnified by her large glasses. Her lips were a full and lustrous red, not dwarfed as they were in the presence of her large spectacles. Freckles dotted her cheeks with a warm welcoming glow. Lily was stunned. Who was she looking at? What had happened to the old Lily? Was this some kind of strange magic?

"Hey Lily, we should—err—I guess change into our robes now," Cherry said, tugging at her bewildered friend.

"Right," a dazed Lily whispered. "Right."

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	5. Dream girl

_Short but sweet. Exactly my opposite. _

_Spiffsta_

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James Potter once again rolled restlessly in bed. He could not for the life of him get the Lily girl out of his head. She was driving him crazy. Something about her eyes made his heart pump wildly and his stomach flop. Every time he tried to reach the shores of sleep, his mind would wander to a place where he would replay the whole scene of meeting her over and over. His mind would reel when she slapped him and he would mentally regret the words he said, trying to amend them while knowing that they were permanent.

Finally, James felt his eyes become heavy. He slipped away from his thoughts and dipped into a sea of dreams. He walked through gentle playful grass that tickled his knees with the wind. The sky overhead was dark and stormy. James walked through the vast sea of green with a sense of calm while water droplets dripped cool on his face. He could make out a shape standing solitary through the trench of rain. Lily stood there with a pleased look on her face as the rain soaked her cold.

"Potter," her lips parted and James was enthralled. "Come here. I want to give you something."

James came obediently, expectant. His stomach did a dance and leaned in for her 'surprise.' She leaned forward, her lips parted, wet from the rain. And then she smacked him. Hard. James recoiled and his head swirled out of his dream. He blinked in time to see Sirius standing over him bashful.

"Sorry mate- the only way I could wake you," Sirius said with a shrug shaking his hand out. James realized that his cheek stung.

He groaned wistfully. "Even in my dreams she hates me!"

Sirius did a double take. "Prongs—you like a girl?"

"No!" James said too quickly trying to cover his outburst. If Sirius knew he liked a girl, he'd never stop trying to get them together.

Sirius smiled coyly. "I'll find out who 'tis… sooner or later. More set on later however; because I am off to ask our lovely new redheaded friend to lunch. Don't think I'd forget this talk though."

James barely opened his eyes let alone his mouth when Sirius exited the room. James cursed as he flung off his covers. He and Sirius liked the same girl.

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	6. Breakfast

Lily sighed angrily as Mitch the Mosquito (or so she called him) came over to their table. She had learned the _whole_ rest of the train ride to Hogwarts that Mitch was Cherry's new boyfriend. And it disgusted her. She was truly happy for Cherry that she had a boyfriend, but Lily had no desire to watch them suck face in the compartment while she sat there staring awkwardly at the seat cushion.

Cherry was mad when Lily confronted her about the PDA. She said if Lily didn't like her boyfriend, then maybe she shouldn't make eyes at him. Lily rolled her eyes with a huff. Cherry thought Lily was jealous! So when Mitch strode to Cherry and put his arms around her, Lily turned disgustedly down to her food. "Hey Babe," he whispered in her ear. She giggled flirtatiously and turned her full attention to him. Within minutes, they were making out right in the great hall! Lily was mortified!

"Sick huh?" a voice observed.

Lily looked over to see who was talking. She shuddered as she saw Sirius Black next to her. But she couldn't help but agree. She nodded her assent, feeling the food she ate come up a little.

"You want to get out of here?" he asked. Lily weighed the options. It didn't take long for her to decide that anything was better than this. Even Black.

They got up and Sirius led her out of the Great hall. "Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"You'll see," winked Black. He took her out onto the grounds. It was a slightly nippy morning. Lily shivered. Black saw this and offered her his cloak but Lily declined. They walked around the eerie lake and ended up in a clearing. Lily suddenly stopped. Through the frosty air she could smell the delicious waft of Butterbeer. She glanced at Sirius mischievously. He nodded with a look to match.

"What's all this?" Spread out on the forest floor was a small meal. Warm croissants, steaming Butterbeer, jam, and stacked flapjacks sat on a checkered blanket. A perfect meal in such weather.

"Breakfast," Sirius said rubbing his hands together.

"You planned this!" Lily accused.

"Aww nothing out of the ordinary," Sirius shrugged off.

"Liar!" Lily laughed. They sat down beneath the trees spaced closely together. The roots seemed like perfect chairs for their morning feast. Lily looked across the lake enjoying her cozy drink in the chilly dawn. They watched the sun rise over the lake.

"Much better view," Sirius commented romantically, gently looking at Lily. Lily smiled gazing at the brilliant lake.

"Certainly," she agreed, pulling her eyes from Dawn's lovely fingertips to Sirius. "So where'd you get the food?"

"Ahh… I nicked it from the kitchens." Sirius waited for the amazed playful wonderment that all the other girls expressed, but it didn't come.

"I see," Lily had stopped eating.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked at once puzzled.

"Oh. Well I find it interesting that a person who is graced with Hogwarts as a second home would steal so readily from that home."

Sirius gaped. "It's not stealing!" he said defensively. She snorted.

"They gave it to me!" Sirius continued. Lily raised an eyebrow. And then she started to smile. Before long she was straight out laughing at the shifting Black.

"What?!"

She smiled. "Think about what you just said Black." She imitated his low suave voice with mocking laughter in her eyes, "I nicked it from the kitchen." She giggled and returned to her normal pitch "And then you say that they gave you food freely! So… that would imply that _you_, my friend, were trying to impress me." She chuckled into the morning sunlight.

Sirius turned her face to his serious bronze features. They were a breath width apart. "Is that such a horrible thing?" he whispered.

"Horrible," she teased and then sighed. "Wasn't this sappy stuff what I was trying to escape?"

"If you were trying to escape that sappy stuff, you wouldn't have come into a forest of maples with me," a twinkle danced in his deep dark eyes.

Lily laughed. "Ahh but that's syrup. I needed that to go on my flapjacks."

"Of course—even though you had no flap jacks entering the forest…" he said wittily in good nature. She had no answer.

"Lily- what are you going to do at lunch? They'll be feeding each other before long!" Lily rubbed her temples.

"I don't know… make more friends, ignore them, distract them with water guns," she said.

"Sounds delightful. How about having lunch with me? I can introduce you to my friends; give you something to take your mind off the smooching couple?"

"No," Lily said immediately.

"Why not?"

"It's totally betrayal on my part if I sit with the best friend of my best friend's rival, James Potter. People already think we like each other—which is bad enough!"

"Do you?"

"No!" she said defensively. "I hate him. Or at least I'm supposed to…"

His eyes went wide for a moment. Sirius paused in contemplation. _Even in my dreams she hates me! _This was the girl James liked! Sirius's whole perspective changed.

"Lily. Is it not betrayal on her part for ignoring you for some wizard she met over break? Plus it's not like you MUST hate James. You merely support Cherry over James on her quest (that will ultimately fail) to become Quidditch Team captain..."

Her indecisive look was all he needed. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall," he winked and left, sending a spell over his shoulder to clean up the food.

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	7. Close but no cigar

Lily went to class with a head ache of a decision. Her mind, torn in debate, could hardly concentrate on class. Should she be loyal to a 'disloyal' friend? Was it betrayal to be friends with people she was supposed to despise? Cherry sat a few seats away staring off into space, no doubt dreaming of time with her adoring Mitch.

Lily sighed. Cherry was _happy._ Who was she to be angry at her? At least no guy would take away their special girls' nights. Every Saturday evening at Hogwarts, Lily and Cherry would have a personal pajama party. They'd tell stories, lore, and myth, discuss events or just relax over a game of wizard's chess. Occasionally, they'd fly out on the grounds, or play witches' truth or dare. In any case, the girls always had a blast.

Lily convinced herself that Cherry and she were friends to the core. She told herself that no guy would impose upon their friendship- not Mitch… or James. Lily looked over and smiled at Cherry. Cherry grinned back and winked. And then she blew a kiss Lily's way!! Lily was confused. She whirled her head around to see Mitch walking around the classroom glancing amicably at Cherry. Lily frowned … Just her luck.

She admonished herself. She should try to see the good qualities in Mitch. He was handsome… in a shaggy-haired hippie way. His lack of hygiene judging by his grimy hands shouldn't bother her….but it did. Lily reproached herself, thinking that Cherry chose him as her boyfriend for _some_ reason. Cherry was a smart girl, capable of making her own life choices.

Lily groaned and looked down to work, a tingly head ache starting to throb with every word she read. It pulsated like an angry drum. Lily stubbornly ignored the inescapable pain. She wouldn't give into the ache… after all, she mused that the pain was only temporary.

When it was time for lunch, Lily saw Sirius motion towards her. Lily was seriously tempted to go. She looked over to Cherry buzzing with excitement. Then she looked back to Sirius. Within, her head was a furnace of pain-producing fire. But then she saw James and her mind was decided. She moved towards them while Cherry was looking the other way… and mouthed slowly "in your dreams." With that she flipped her flaming hair over her shoulder and sat down to eat, her face not betraying a single agonizing thought within her aching head.

Sirius shook his dark locks. This girl would take time.


	8. mind reader

"Sirius, I have something to confess to you," James said, worry gnawing his stomach.

Sirius smiled all-knowing. "I am know all. Sit down Potter and we'll talk about the girl."

"Am I that obvious?" James asked.

"'Fraid so," Remus said not even glancing from his book.

James sat down with a dejected chuckle. "Listen Sirius, its about—l"

"Lemme guess. A certain red head?"

"What?!" James asked surprised. "How did you-"

"I told you I know all!"

"Then you know that I-"

"Like her? Yes. I know," Sirius finished again. James looked perplexed.

"Then are you-"

"Mad? Not at all! I'm rooting for you 100! Besides, I just got a date with a hip Hufflepuff last class," Sirius said smiling at the memory.

"Did you-"

"Make some kind of potion that lets me read your mind? No." Sirius laughed at James' expression.

"Well do you think-"

"That she likes you?"

"Stop that!! It's freaking me out!" James blurted. "Do you think she'd go out with me?"

"Well…she won't date you as long as she and Cherry are friends because you are their _enemy _or something. Probably has to do with the elections. She's painfully loyal that way."

"Then the only way to be with her is loose the election!" James said miserably.

"That," Sirius consented, "or break up their friendship."

33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

_You know you like pressing buttons. I can see it in your eyes. You are very good at it. I think you should press that little button on the bottom left hand corner of this screen that says **go**. Why? Just to prove to me how good you are at pressing buttons. _

_Oh that's not good enough for you? Well then..Because you clearly have nothing better to do. No! Don't lie to me. That's not better. What could possibly better than pressing buttons? _

_Ah... well it's quite obvious you don't know the full joy button pushers have. Maybe you should leave. Oh? you want ME to leave? Click **go. **That will tell me to leave! No I'm not trying to trick you into reviewing! That would be most devious of me! Do you think I'm that devious?_

_Oh that's mature. You're calling me devious! Stop it with the name calling- It's irritating._

_Oh see! You ARE a button pusher! You're pushing my buttons so you must be one! Oh don't try to tell me you don't enjoy making me irritated. Liar. _

_hit the button. C'mon, I know you want to... _


	9. Betrayals

Lily sighed as she doodled on the side of her parchment. It was Saturday night-- supposedly the best night of the week. This was girls' night! This was the night where she would be able to chat with Cherry up into the wee hours of the morning.

But, Cherry was ill. Lily could not help being disappointed. She knew she wasn't being fair to Cherry, but she had been so looking forward to hanging out together for ONCE without Mitch the Misquito. Unfortunately, this could not occur. Cherry was curled up in bed, sick. She had refused to go to the Infirmary because she did not wish to 'make a scene'. She just told Lily that she wanted to get a good night's sleep.

"The Muggles always say that 'sleep is the best medicine'" Lily quoted. Cherry had smiled rather weakly and had nodded as she marched slowly off to bed.

The parchment doodle, as far as doodles went, was going very poorly. Lily was trying to draw the piercing eyes of that blurry person who showed up quite frequently in her dreams. But, their alluring quality was impossible to capture on paper. As she thought more and more of the eyes from the dream, her own lids became heavier and a light snooze entailed. Half an hour passed before she awoke again in quite an unpleasant manner.

"Hey Lily! Watch out for the--!"

Upon hearing her name shouted, Lily snapped her head out of a dream and looked up, confused.

"What?" she asked, momentarily wondering why she had a piece of parchment stuck on her face.

Before she could peel the piece of paper off of her skin, something hit her in the side of the head. As she removed the parchment from her face, Lily was finally able to see the pesky little beast that had jammed into her. It was an enormous, enchanted paper bee. It buzzed around her glossy hair, trying to pull some of the red strands away. Its massive, slightly dented stinger kept poking her in the face. Lily was not amused. With a frustrated jab of her wand, the bee turned to ash. Everyone backed away a bit as the charred remains drifted to the floor of the chamber. Silence reigned as Lily's fiery gaze swept the room. Her eyes finally found their target, James Potter. He was with his little group of friends. Their faces had guilt written all over them.

"Thought you'd be funny, eh Potter?" Lily challenged, her face coming close to the color of her hair. "Well you GOT me. Ha ha ha. Hilarious."

James was quite puzzled. His spelled paper bee had escaped his notice while Sirius had distracted him with a question about lycanthropy. When he noticed his enchanted paper was gone, James had shouted out to Lily to warn her of his mishap. He didn't see anything that was particularly 'funny' about it, especially if it enraged the girl he cared about most.

"Funny? Whatever do you mean?" James asked genuinely confused.

"Don't pretend like you don't know!!" Lily spat with a rage boiling within. "Just because my name is Lily doesn't mean you have the right to make fun of me! And if you ever send your bloody bee to try and 'pollinate the lily' again or make some other crude and arrogant joke about my name, you may end up worse off than your measly paper toy!"

With that, Lily stormed out of the common room.

"Oh 'cause her name is Lily and that was a bee!" Wormtail exclaimed, the revelation dawning on him. He burst into a fit of giggles, "James, you are brilliant!" James scowled.

"Shut up, Wormtail!" he and Sirius said simultaneously.

"What do I do Sirius?" James asked. "She thinks I made fun of her name, her beautiful name!"

"I would go after her to try and explain," Sirius said. "And if that doesn't work, apologize."

---------------------------------

Lily kept telling herself that this episode with James was great; she finally had a real reason to dislike James Potter. She could now think of him with disgust. This was great, grand even. Now she could go on with her daily life without any mixed roles. She could be the perfect best friend to Cherry. She could hate Cherry's rival with a real zest now.

So why wasn't she happy? In fact, this was the most miserable that Lily had felt in quite a while. Emotions rolled around in her head, threatening to explode. A pounding migraine hit her and Lily sunk down with her head in her lap.

It was at this point that James found Lily. "Lily! There you are! I was looking all over for you!"

"Go away!" Lily mumbled through her curled limbs. Her face was feverish and blotchy. She couldn't let him see that he had bothered her.

James was immediately worried at her condition. "Lily are you okay?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

Lily wouldn't look at him as her head exploded in pain. "I'm fine. Please leave."

"Lily I am really sorry about what happened. I didn't send that paper bee over to you on purpose, I swear! I just got distracted by Sirius and then all of the sudden, I saw it was going to hit you."

Lily looked at him to see if he was telling the truth. His honey brown eyes held her gaze with a certain intensity. He started to say more, but Lily really couldn't concentrate. Instantly she knew that the whole bee thing was a misunderstanding. She was mortified at how much she had blown things out of proportion. Her headache magnified and things became a bit blurry. As she tried to get up, her world swam in front of her. It crashed to black as she fainted and once again fell into the strong arms of James Potter.

-------------------------------------

James didn't really know what had happened. One minute he was apologizing, the next minute, Lily had passed out. James thanked Merlin that he was skilled as a Seeker; his quick reflexes saved Lily the fate of collapsing on the hard stone floor. He easily scooped her up in his arms and started jogging towards the Infirmary. He knew he was quite capable of using levicorpus to float her body effortlessly behind him, but chose not to do so for more personal reasons. He looked down with worry at her limp, yet lovely form.

As he delivered her to the nurse, she gave him a quick suspicious glance-over before tending to her patient. His frantic pacing was enough to tell the nurse that this boy was concerned for the girl and meant no harm. Within two minutes, Lily was revived and the nurse gave her a potion to keep the pain at bay.

"And take this tonic twice a night until you feel better, dear." she said, patting Lily's hand.

"May I leave?" Lily asked, quite embarrassed that she had passed out and that James had come to her rescue.

"Yes, but I would advise you to allow this gentleman to escort you back to Gryffindor common room for a bit of rest." she said with a wink to James.

James nodded and took Lily's arm as she struggled to stand up and steady herself. After a moment, they slowly began walking back to the Gryffindor common room. James was very careful, making sure she wouldn't fall or feint or something.

After a moment's silence, Lily blushed. "I want to thank you for all your help, James. I didn't deserve it, especially after the way I blew up at you."

"Ah it was no problem. As for your anger, it was completely understandable. I too would have been mad if a belligerent buzzing creature woke me up by trying to hit me with its paper stinger. I am truly sorry for that by the way; it was a Charms project that I obviously need to work on."

Lily smiled. "Well, maybe I can help with that. I'm really quite good at Charms if I do say so myself."

"I should certainly say you're charming... er... I mean that you are good at Charms." James amended, kicking himself silently. Lily grinned.

As the two turned the corner, Lily stumbled. James was right there to catch her. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

Lily looked up at his light chocolaty brown eyes. His thick lashes revealed a caring gaze that made her stomach flutter. In that moment, something came over her. Her pulse quickened and she ever-so-slightly leaned in, as if to kiss him. James bent down to embrace her in a kiss. But, as his soft lips grazed hers, Lily suddenly stopped and pulled back.

"Cherry?" Lily whispered.

Behind James, down the corridor, Lily had caught a glimpse of her best friend in the arms of Mitch. On Saturday night.

She did not look ill at all.

-------------------------------------------


	10. Unexpected Discovery

She had lied. She wasn't sick--far from it. From the looks of things, the girl with Mitch was enjoying herself quite thoroughly. The two were practically glued to each other. Cherry had consciously ditched their sacred hangout time to suck face with a guy she had known for two months.

Lily was livid. She was torn. How could Cherry betray her like this? This was a low blow. To lie to and ditch Lily for such a sentimental gathering was equivalent to dragging their friendship through a pile of festering animal feces.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Lily began to walk towards her "best friend". As she did so, her anger rippled throughout her entire existence. Streaks of fire started weaving through her hair and wind whipped her long locks around, where there had previously been no wind.

When she was standing a foot from the two, they were so engrossed that they didn't even acknowledge her presence. She only got the back of Cherry's head.

"So much for being SICK!" Lily yelled, fury evident in her voice.

This got the couple's attention. Mitch turned and Cherry looked up. Only it wasn't Cherry. It was a stunning girl she knew from Slytherin. She had the same hair color and build as Cherry, but it wasn't her.

"W-what? You're not Cherry!" Lily stuttered. The girl looked quite uncomfortable as well as confused.

"Who's Cherry?" she asked Mitch pointedly.

"Err Lily; I can explain!" started Mitch. But it was all very clear what was going on. He had exploited Lily's closest friend on a night when she was sick no less!

"You bastard!" Lily shouted. "You're cheating on my BEST friend!"

With this, Lily raised her wand and cursed him. Large warts exploded across Mitch's skin. Mitch looked down at his body that had become progressively more ugly by the second.

"You little witch!" he screeched in rage. He raised his own wand to counter-curse Lily. Before Lily could defend herself, a booming voice yelled from beside her:

"PROTEGO!" James' voice echoed off of the wall with protective ferocity.

"Expelliarmus!" Lily spoke swiftly while Mitch was distracted.

Mitch was thrown back unconscious on the stone floor and his wand flew down the corridor. The Slytherin girl cast a scathing glance in his direction and muttered only a single word:

"Pathetic.

Lily stormed back to the common room with James at her side.

"Thanks for protecting me from Mitch's spell," Lily said, remembering her manners as some of her adrenaline cooled off.

"Well what would the nurse think if I had to bring you back a second time?" James asked with a twinkle in his eyes. Lily smiled at the thought and her mood improved significantly. But then she remembered Cherry and her heart sank.

"I have to tell her." Lily said.

"I'll come with you. It will help to have someone there with you to give you a bit of support," James offered.

"Err no. I should do this alone. She would be upset if we were seen anywhere near each other. She would think of our being together as a betrayal on my part and I definitely cannot have that right now," Lily said, thinking of Cherry's intense rivalry against James.

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"So does that mean we can't be together… I mean hang out?" James asked tentatively.

"James you can't ask me to betray my truest and oldest friend by consorting with her rival!" Lily said.

"I'm not! I'm not asking you to betray anyone! I'm asking you to let me take you out to dinner," he said. "Where's the harm in that?"

Lily's heart sang and her stomach flipped but her conscience reigned in her delight and crushed it.

"I can't. I'm sorry!"

She fled into the common room and up to the girls' dormitory. She paused before entering the room to collect herself. Then, when she felt prepared to become the bearer of bad news, Lily pushed open the door.


End file.
